Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

genre: contemporary fiction

Margo's short affair with a college professor has landed her pregnant.  I HATE even writing that sentence because it makes it sounds like it's Margo's fault somehow, not the fault the man who GOT her pregnant.  But the reality is that she IS pregnant and that professor has no interest in being involved and so Margo is on her own, at 20 years old, and has to figure out what the heck to do with her blown-up life.

The book is about how she solves her problems as well as the people in her life that both disappoint her and surprise her.  I tried, as I was reading, to really try and open my mind about her choices (online sex work) and not judge her but instead try to understand and have compassion.  Honestly, I eventually felt kind of proud of her for just owning her decisions and finding ways to be good at what she's doing.  Would I ever do it?  No.  Do I want to read about a bunch of dudes' junk over and over?  Not particularly. But the REST of the story, the parts NOT about sex work, are actually really interesting and sometimes very cute and funny.  It's not poorly written and it really opens your eyes to the challenge of surviving when you can't turn to parents or friends to bail you out.   It ends up being a tender, family-you-choose kind of story, if you can stick it out.